ALJDEC decisions subject to certification as final

07F-P0186W-ROC · Registrar of Contractors · 2008-11-18

IN THE OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

HEARING: November 6th, 2008; 9:00 a.m. APPEARANCES: Complainant, Mr. Doug Brunskill, represented himself. Respondent, DGB Builders, Inc., failed to appear. ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE: Grant Winston _____________________________________________________________________ The administrative hearing of this matter was held by the Office of Administrative Hearings, Tucson. Testimony was heard and based on the entire record the following Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Recommended Order are made. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. Respondent, DGB Builders, Inc., was, during the time of the contractual relationship between these parties, a contractor licensed by and doing business in the State of Arizona, holding Class KB-02 License number 222849. 2. Complainant, Mr. Doug Brunskill, contracted with Respondent for the construction of his new home in Pine, Arizona, in January, 2006, for the price of $592,000.00. 3. Following construction of the home Complainant filed the instant Complaint in the Arizona Registrar of Contractors office on or about January 12th, 2007. 4. The Complaint was assigned to agency Inspector Tom Sandoval, who conducted a job site inspection, and as a result of his findings, issued a written Corrective Work Order to Respondent dated February 22nd, 2007. The CWO ordered Respondent to make several corrections to its defective workmanship on Complainant’s house, and to do so within 15 calendar days, which was a reasonable amount of time. Respondent failed to make the ordered corrections and Complainant requested an administrative hearing. 5. Citation and Complaint issued from the Registrar’s office on May 25th, 2007. The Citation and Complaint issued against both this Respondent and DGB Developers, Inc, Class B License number 147282. The Citation and Complaint also classified this Respondent’s license as a B, not a KB-02. 6. The Registrar issued a default Decision and Order against Respondents in that case on August 28th, 2007. However, later, on January 30th, 2008, the Registrar issued an Order Quashing the Default Decision and Order, and reissued a new Citation and Complaint, as it appears hereinabove. Respondent filed a Written Answer to the Citation and Complaint. This hearing was duly scheduled, noticed and held. 7. Respondent failed to appear at the hearing. Complainant appeared and credibly testified. 8. The subject license is now suspended having been suspended on July 23rd, 2008, for lack of bond, and again on August 7th, 2008, pursuant to a payout from the Registrar of Contractors in a Residential Contractors’ Recovery Fund claim filed by this Complainant against License 147282. Complainant proved the facts relevant and material to this Complaint in the claim for recovery from the Fund. He has received a partial monetary recovery for actual damages pursuant to that claim. 9. The two licenses which have caused some confusion in these administrative proceedings ( Class KB-02 222849, and Class B 147282 ( are both issued with the same Qualifying Party, Mr. Norman John Clarke. They both have the same phone number and the same mailing address ( (928) 468-8045, P. O. Box 1146, Payson, Arizona, 85547. There is a third license registered with the Registrar of Contractors which also lists Mr. Clarke as the Qualifying Party, and also contains the same address and phone number as the other two; that is, Class KB-02 License number 187103. That License was canceled and suspended. 10. Respondent’s Written Answer seems to plead that the wrong entity was named as Respondent, but the greater weight of evidence, and the ROC license records prove that these entities are basically the same person or same two people (Mr. Clarke, and a Mr. James Arthur Klatt or Ms. Mary Ann Clarke (who it may be reasonably inferred is a relative of Respondent) shifting from one license to another in order to avoid disciplinary action by the Registrar. 11. Notice is taken of the Respondent’s prior license record with the Arizona Registrar of Contractors. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. This administrative hearing was held under authority of and pursuant to A.R.S. 32-1156, and A.R.S. 41-1092. 2. Respondent is charged in the instant Citation and Complaint with possible violations of A.R.S. 32-1154.A.7, 23 and 3. 3. The unopposed and credible evidence of Complainant, as well as the Registrar of Contractors license records proved that Respondent’s workmanship on Complainant’s home was below workmanship standards in violation of A.A.C. R4-19-108, and therefore in violation of A.R.S. 32-1154.A.3. 4. Respondent failed to make the corrections ordered by the Inspector in the written Corrective Work Order without valid justification in violation of A.R.S. 32-1154.A.23. 5. There is insufficient evidence of any violation of A.R.S. 32- 1154.A.7, wrongful or fraudulent act, in violation of A.R.S. 32- 1154.A.7, independent of the violations already concluded to have occurred. RECOMMENDED ORDER In view of the foregoing Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law it is hereby recommended that Respondent’s Class KB-02 License number 222849 be revoked on the effective date of this Order (40 days after the date of service appearing on the Registrar’s certification on the Order). In the event of certification of the Administrative Law Judge’s Decision and Order by the Director of the Office of Administrative Hearings, then the effective date of the Order shall be 40 days after the date of that certification. Done this day, November 14th, 2008.

______________________________________ Grant Winston Administrative Law Judge

Original transmitted by mail this ____ day of ____________, 2008, to:

Registrar of Contractors Armando Contreras 3838 N. Central Ave. Phoenix, AZ 85012

By ___________________________

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Office of Administrative Hearings 100 N. Stone Ave., Suite 704 Tucson, AZ 85701 520-628-5488 Fax: 520-628-5575 www.azoah.com